EDITORIAL: New football system will get complaints, too

The Tuscaloosa News

Published: Sunday, October 13, 2013 at 3:30 a.m.

Last Modified: Friday, October 11, 2013 at 10:01 p.m.

The sports world is aflutter with the names of those who might be selected to decide the teams that will have a chance to play for college football’s national championship next year under the new playoff format. After years of listening to carping and complaining about the current Bowl Championship Series format, organizers are looking for credibility and star power.

Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice’s name was among those leaked, and it immediately ignited controversy. Former Auburn coach Pat Dye did everything but shriek “Ewww, a girl” and tack a “Boyz Onlee” sign on the treehouse door. We’re not sure if his objection to Rice was really about her having never played the game or the fact that he might be aware of her connections to Tuscaloosa.

Other names, like Archie Manning, seemed to get more universal acceptance. But tossing about names for committee members tends to remind everyone that a selection committee will be composed of fallible humans who bring to the table their own set of preferences and prejudices.

It’s worth remembering that this whole thing was set off by the BCS doing exactly what it was intended to do. In 2011, it paired LSU and Alabama, clearly the best two teams in college football, in the championship game. But because they were both members of a conference that has become the most hated confederation since the Roman Empire and played “boring” defensive football, the masses cried out for change.

Someone probably could have predicted this when a fan revolt against the old bowl system led to the BCS. Because of tie-ups with the different conferences, it was difficult to match up the top two teams in a bowl game. Year after year, the teams that should have been bashing heads were miles apart playing inferior opponents because their conferences had dictated that they would be in New Orleans, Miami, Pasadena or Dallas.

Unless either the No. 1- or No.-2 ranked team was in the Pac 10 or Big 10, which always played each other in the Rose Bowl, the only hope was for one of the two ranked teams to be an independent. Miami, Penn State or Notre Dame could choose where they would spend New Year’s Day and sign up for a game with the SEC, Big 8 or Southwest Conference champion.

It’s been so long ago that all of the conference names have changed or become inaccurate except for the SEC (and with Missouri and Texas A&M now members, that could be argued, as well). It’s also been so long ago that people forget there were unintended consequences. For one thing, instead of three or four bowls having some bearing on the national championship, only one does now.

Four teams will be in play under the coming system instead of two. But it’s a good bet that fans of a fifth team to be named later will be steamed. So what can we expect when the new four-team playoff functions exactly as it should? We predict more complaints and outrage.

<p>The sports world is aflutter with the names of those who might be selected to decide the teams that will have a chance to play for college football's national championship next year under the new playoff format. After years of listening to carping and complaining about the current Bowl Championship Series format, organizers are looking for credibility and star power.</p><p>Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's name was among those leaked, and it immediately ignited controversy. Former Auburn coach Pat Dye did everything but shriek “Ewww, a girl” and tack a “Boyz Onlee” sign on the treehouse door. We're not sure if his objection to Rice was really about her having never played the game or the fact that he might be aware of her connections to Tuscaloosa.</p><p>Other names, like Archie Manning, seemed to get more universal acceptance. But tossing about names for committee members tends to remind everyone that a selection committee will be composed of fallible humans who bring to the table their own set of preferences and prejudices.</p><p>It's worth remembering that this whole thing was set off by the BCS doing exactly what it was intended to do. In 2011, it paired LSU and Alabama, clearly the best two teams in college football, in the championship game. But because they were both members of a conference that has become the most hated confederation since the Roman Empire and played “boring” defensive football, the masses cried out for change.</p><p>Someone probably could have predicted this when a fan revolt against the old bowl system led to the BCS. Because of tie-ups with the different conferences, it was difficult to match up the top two teams in a bowl game. Year after year, the teams that should have been bashing heads were miles apart playing inferior opponents because their conferences had dictated that they would be in New Orleans, Miami, Pasadena or Dallas.</p><p>Unless either the No. 1- or No.-2 ranked team was in the Pac 10 or Big 10, which always played each other in the Rose Bowl, the only hope was for one of the two ranked teams to be an independent. Miami, Penn State or Notre Dame could choose where they would spend New Year's Day and sign up for a game with the SEC, Big 8 or Southwest Conference champion.</p><p>It's been so long ago that all of the conference names have changed or become inaccurate except for the SEC (and with Missouri and Texas A&M now members, that could be argued, as well). It's also been so long ago that people forget there were unintended consequences. For one thing, instead of three or four bowls having some bearing on the national championship, only one does now.</p><p>Four teams will be in play under the coming system instead of two. But it's a good bet that fans of a fifth team to be named later will be steamed. So what can we expect when the new four-team playoff functions exactly as it should? We predict more complaints and outrage.</p>